Update: Category 5 Hurricane Rita - Live Thread, Part II

NHC - NOAA ^ | 21 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[1riot1ranger]

Thanks for the pings this morning. We will be leaving for SA today.

[rabair]

this is about as un-PC as it gets but, well... that's me.... let's hope it goes a little more west, rather than northwest, and mainly just hits Mexico, and only grazes Texas if it has to.

[Rte66]

Thanks - no, it's not favorable at all. It's very scary. Same met is now making the point that from noon Friday (or even earlier) through mid-afternoon Saturday, for about 24 to 36 hours, we cannot leave our homes if we stay here.

[GOP_Thug_Mom]

we got one of those about a year and a half ago--I still have it somewhere...

[WoodstockCat]

Just an FYI for everyone. My wife was supposed to fly into Austin to visit her sister (and my new niece) on Thursday AM and then fly out on Sunday.

I called SouthWest Airlines last night and they have already declared (their internal code) "rule 85" (it may be 35 bad connection) for Houston and Corpus Christi airports.

That means if you have flights in or out through the weekend you can rebook without penalty within the next 14 days. They haven't declared the same for Austin, that is still a standard cancelation policy creating a credit that is good for up to one year. Prayers for you Texans!

Our eyes and hearts are upon you this weekend!

[Gone GF]

I think people are overreacting. After all, Category 5 hurricanes are a dime a dozen. (sarcasm off)

[Peach]

FNC just reminded people who were thinking about looting that people in Texas carry guns. LOL

[laz]

Rita has dropped 40mb (from 988 to 948) and increased 65mph (from 70mph to 135mph) in the past 24 hours.

And she still has another 45 minutes to go before the 24-hour mark. Wouldn't surprise me if she increases another 5 mph by then.

At this point in the gulf, Katrina was what? Still a Cat 1?

[daybreakcoming]

Awesome pictures. Rita just looks more wicked.

[Zacs Mom]

As I see it right now, the storm will weaken once it makes landfall so by the time it reaches Austin it would most likely be a strong storm, but not a hurricane.

If my mom were there I'd see if I couldn't make contact with one of her neighbors so someone near by would know to check on her if things got really rough in her area.

I'd also keep a close eye on Rita and move to get her out if it looked as though real trouble was headed there by Friday afternoon.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

I think I'm gonna tell her to stock up on some water, gas, batteries just in case power lines go down. I think it would be silly for her to drive north since the highways are gonna be jammed.

[Trust but Verify]

I hope they don't try to make people leave their pets behind. A lot of people would risk their lives and stay with the pets.

[angelsonmyside]

NautiNurse, thanks for keeping this thread going. Prayers to all in that general direction. I am originally from Houston and remember Carla well and they say this will be worse. For the first time in 49 years we are making my mom leave town.

[TaxRelief]

This looks to become a cat 5 hurricane.

I would've thought it would go back to Cat 3...

[NautiNurse]

I'm sorry I missed that. CNN should report the same.

[WoodstockCat]

What's your opinion on potential loss of power in Austin after landfall?

[4everontheRight]

Dr. Joe from Accuweather just said Rita is Katrina-like. He said it should upgrade to a 5 and lower to a 4 but still be a 4 when it hits land

[Strategerist]

Problem is there hasn't been any aircraft recon for 12+ hours due to multiple electronic failures (I'd say it has to be 3-4 aircraft) so the pressure estimate at this time is an unusually vague guess.

[VirginiaMom]

So far every report I've heard has said they can take their pets as long as the pets are in pet crates.

[anymouse]

Houston Real-time Traffic Map